The case files belonging to at least three 2001 homicide investigations in scandal-plagued Bell — including at least one case that remains unsolved — have been destroyed, a police department spokesman said.

The cases, included in a Los Angeles County Department of Coroner database chronicling homicides countywide, represent half of the homicides reported in the city of 35,000 mostly lower income residents between January 2000 and December 2010.

Although the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau investigates most slayings in Bell, the cases in the database represent those not initially turned over to county officials, according to the coroner records.

“The three 2001 cases were purged and lost due to a computer crash; therefore, I have no information for you on those,” Bell Police Sgt. Tom Rodriguez explained a July email.

In a follow-up phone call, Police Chief Anthony Miranda said he was told the three missing cases were not considered homicides, though they may have initially been ruled suspicious.

Either way, Miranda said he is not sure if the cases were solved or unsolved.

“I can’t tell you exactly about that because we don’t have any documentation for them,” he said.

Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau Detective Steve Blagg said one of the cases, which involved the death of a 4-month-old baby, remains unsolved. Sheriff’s Department Deputy Eddie Chavez could not find records for the other two.

Miranda said he is unsure if the paperwork was purged because it was past the seven-year window departments are required to keep case files or because the files were lost in 2001 when the department’s servers crashed.

Unlike most crimes, there is no statue of limitations for murder in California.

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The lost records relate to the deaths of Jennifer Ramirez, a 4-month-old, who died of shaken baby syndrome; Winfield Moore Jr., 92, who died of coronary cardiovascular disease and Pablo Hernandez, 47, who suffered multi-organ failure.

The city reported to the FBI that one homicide occurred in 2001. The FBI’s uniform crime report does not indicate which case was reported.

Jane Bouffard, of Justice for Homicide Victims, said she has heard of other agencies missing files.

“I hate to hear that kind of stuff, but I don’t think Bell is the only one,” said Bouffard.

Bell, a city of about 35,000 residents, drew national attention and became a symbol of public corruption when it was revealed in 2010 its top administrator Robert Rizzo earned a $787,637 salary and a lucrative benefits package that totaled more than $1.5 million.

Several former city councilmembers were convicted of misappropriating public funds by overpaying themselves for sitting on city boards and authorities that rarely met.

Then-Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley called it a case of “corruption on steroids.”

The total cost of the corruption scandal is estimated at $20 million.

Community activists, who organized in the wake of the scandal and pledged to be watchdogs of their local government, were concerned the police department didn’t have the records.

“It’s troubling to hear that those records are just lost,” said Denise Rodarte, a spokeswoman for Bell Association to Stop the Abuse, “It reflects a lack of leadership that department has had. One of the main things in keeping Bell safe is having a permanent police chief.”

The police chief is one of the last department head positions to be filled permanently in wake of the scandal, Rodarte pointed out. Former police chief Randy Adams who took home about a $500,000 salary was fired.

Community activist Marcos Oliva said he wasn’t surprised the department had lost the records.

“It’s not something that’s right,” he said. “But for me, it doesn’t surprise me. There’s many other documents that are missing.”